Kestrel
Kestrel was a female SkyWing and one of the Guardians of the Dragonets. She taught and "cared" for the Dragonets of Destiny while there they were in the hidden cave, having been a member of the Talons of Peace before being killed by Princess Blister in the epilogue of The Dragonet Prophecy. She seemed to be the strongest and harshest of the guardians, though she was quick to come and help when she was told that the dragonets were in danger by Blister and Morrowseer, proving that she might have cared about them, or at least their role in the prophecy. Her mate was Chameleon (in the form of the SkyWing Soar), though according to Chameleon, she didn't know who he was, thinking he was just the dragon assigned to her, and she was the mother of Peril and her dead brother. Appearance Kestrel had jewel-hard1 rust-colored scales2 (also described as red-gold or orange-red),3 as well as red wings4 and red talons5. She has been described with yellow6, orange7, and orange-yellow8 eyes and was said to be large. She also was said to have a forked tongue6. She had burn scars on her palms2 from an attempt to save her daughter, Peril, from Queen Scarlet. In the graphic novel, she also had a burn scar on the side of her face. Personality Because she had lost both of her dragonets and was exiled from the Sky Kingdom, Kestrel was usually bad-tempered, grumpy, and hot-headed, though only a little more than normal SkyWings. She was assumed to be just cruel and mean naturally, but it was later revealed that this was because she was bitter about being lied to and subsequently losing her dragonets. She often bullied and abused Glory, as Glory wasn't a SkyWing, and a SkyWing dragonet was required in the Dragonet Prophecy. She was supposed to be the one to kill Glory on Morrowseer's orders, saying that she would snap Glory's neck while she was sleeping, but she failed because Glory was hidden by her camouflage, and everyone managed to escape. Kestrel seemed to hate all the Dragonets of Destiny, and she thought they were useless. Biography Pre-Series Years before the series began, Kestrel was one of Queen Scarlet's most loyal soldiers. Under Queen Scarlet's orders, she entered the SkyWing breeding program and produced one large egg containing twins, a rare occurrence. One of the dragonets, the female, hatched with twice the amount of fire she should have had while her brother had almost none, causing guaranteed death. Since such dragonets were always killed, Kestrel attempted to escape to save them, but was caught at the Diamond Spray River. Scarlet told her that if Kestrel killed one, she would not be held responsible for her disobedience. In addition, the other dragonet would live. Kestrel killed the dragonet without any fire with her own claws. Scarlet went back on her word and ordered her guards to attack, forcing Kestrel to flee for her life. Kestrel attempted to save her daughter, but burned her palms on the dragonet's scales. She was forced to leave her surviving dragonet behind, and could not return to her, as she knew she would be killed by Scarlet. Family Soar (Chameleon) (Husband) Peril (daughter) Unnamed (son) *deceased* Relationships Clay Clay always was the one to be picked out of all the dragonets to learn how to fight due to him because of his ability to breathe fire and size. She knew that MudWings can only breathe fire when they are warm enough. Unknowingly, he was developing his special fireproof scales, which causes his scales to heal from any burn within a few seconds. Tsunami Tsunami appears to dislike Kestrel, and Kestrel feels the same way due to the ancient SkyWing grudge at the SeaWings due to the Royal SeaWing Massacre. She even bit off a scale from her to prevent Kestrel from forcing Clay to fight. Kestrel severely punishes Tsunami to the point of chaining her up when she disobeyed her order in The Dragonet Prophecy. Glory Kestrel hates Glory due to the fact that she is a RainWing and not a SkyWing, like the prophecy called for. She often refers to her as lazy and weak. Kestrel was supposed to murder Glory for the prophecy in the first book, but thanks to the aid of the rest of the dragonets, Glory managed to escape. Starflight Kestrel would often burn Starflight just like all the other dragonets, especially because he could not fight. Sunny Kestrel seems to dislike Sunny the least. The optimistic dragonet was most likely treated better by the guardians, including Kestrel. Sunny noted that she had stopped to grieve for Dune and Kestrel at night sometimes. Dune Helped Kestrel and Webs raise the dragonets. Kestrel seemed to be neutral with him. Peril It is likely that she cared about her daughter, as she tried to flee with her. When she found out Peril was alive, she told her, "I thought you were dead." In addition to that, after Glory "kills" Queen Scarlet, she invites Peril to come with her - however, Peril declines, ending their relationship after Kestrel is killed shortly afterwards. Quotes "Of all the horrible ideas. RainWings are wretched creatures. Nothing like SkyWings." - ''About Webs' plan to replace the broken SkyWing egg with a RainWing egg. ''"WHICH LEFT WAS THAT, USELESS? Are all MudWings this stupid? OR ARE YOU JUST DEAF?" - To Clay during battle training. '' ''"The prophecy calls for a SkyWing! And you bring us a lazy, stupid RainWing?" - ''T''o Webs after he brings a RainWing egg instead of a SkyWing egg in The Dragonet Prophecy (Graphic Novel) only. "WHAT is going on here?" "This doesn't look like studying." "You mean play-acting. You are too old for games." "Well, there's no surprises with you. Webs stole your egg from the SeaWing queen's own hatchery." "I am the way life has made me. Take it or leave it." "We await the wings of fire." "I-I thought you were dead." "I'm your teacher. Nothing I do is cheating." - ''To Clay, after he yells at her for stomping on his tail. ''"Where's the violent little dragon I saw in you when you hatched? ''That's ''the dragon we need for the prophecy." - ''To Clay while they were fighting in ''The Dragonet Prophecy. Trivia * A kestrel is a species of small falcon that hovers with rapidly beating wings while searching for prey on the ground. * Kestrel is the third named dragon to appear in the series, as well as the first SkyWing. * She is also the fourth guardian of the Dragonets of Destiny to die in the series. * In The Dragonet Prophecy, she reveals that she was part of the breeding program in order to supply the SkyWing army with soldiers. * Kestrel is the second known dragon to have survived being burned by Peril, with the others being Clay and Prince Winter. * Kestrel treated the Dragonets of Destiny cruelly due to her bitterness about losing both her dragonets. It is unknown if she would have warmed up sooner if she hadn't died. * In the graphic novel some of her quotes in chapter one are different from the book. I.e, She asks Clay out loud if "all MudWings are stupid or are you just deaf?" while in the graphic she yells "are all MudWings this useless, or just you?" * Even though Kestrel says she "wouldn't come running" if the dragonets needed her, she proved herself wrong and was killed by Blister. Category:The Dragonet Prophecy Characters Category:The Dragonet Prophecy Category:Books